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Thursday, November 18, 2021

Newbury Weekly News

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT 2 n

Orchestra goes live again

Pantomime-time STRICTLY Come Dancing champ Joe McFadden stars as The Beast/ Prince in Basingstoke’s Anvil pantomime Beauty & The Beast (December 9 to January 2). He is joined by Basil Brush’s Mr Stephen Chris Pizzey, who returns for more gags and silliness as Louis la Plonk. An evil sorceress sentences the Prince to live life as a hideous Beast in his enchanted castle. Can Belle teach him the error of his ways and lift the curse forever? Packed full of larger-than-life characters, catchy songs, side-splitting jokes, sumptuous sets and plenty of festive fun. EastEnders ’ Nick Wilton stars as Polly la Plonk, Maria Coyne is Belle, and Michael Quinn is Hugo Pompidou, the cheeky chap trying to win the heart of dear Belle. www. anvil arts.org.uk n EXPECT magic and sparkle as Oxford Playhouse’s Robin Hood panto opens next Saturday and runs to January 9. Feared by the bad, loved by the good, taking from the rich to give to the poor, Robin Hood and his Merry Band are our favourite outlaws, especially when they treat us to songs, dance, laughter and derring-do https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com n CHILDREN’S TV megastar Justin Fletcher stars as Billy Pastry alongside Reading’s favourite Dame Paul Morse as Nanny Pastry. in the Hexagon’s Beauty and The Beast from December 4 to January 3. n DANCE and TV sensation Louie Spence pirouettes onto the Wyvern Theatre stage as The Spirit of the Beans in the magical family pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk at Swindon. swindontheatres.co.uk n Turn to page 45 for news on the Corn Exchange AFTER a summer of playing all over the South – from Bristol to Eastbourne and everything in between – Newbury rock band The Station are approaching the end of the year with a series of local gigs. Although these Berkshire buskers can often be found jamming with acoustic guitars on Newbury high street, The Station’s November and December dates will be fully amplified, loud and lively, complete with a bass and a drum kit to get you up and dancing to the songs from their recent EP Dark Energy and maybe even a few of the classic rock ‘n’ roll tunes from which their influences derive. As the nights get longer and the cold weather sets in, head out to your local and see if The Station can warm your soul with a bit of singing, dancing and merriment. • Saturday, December 4 – The Railway Tavern, Hungerford (alongside popular Marlborough- based band The Vooz) • Friday, December 17 – The Swan, Thatcham • Saturday, December 18 – The Old London Apprentice, Newbury • December 31 – The Plume, Hungerford (New Year’s Eve party) The Station; loud and lively in a pub near you

ON Saturday, at St Nicolas’ Church, Newbury Symphony Orchestra is performing its first concert for two years with a programme including works by Sibelius, Debussy and Prokoviev. Through the pandemic, when the orchestra couldn’t have live rehearsals or perform concerts, the members of the orchestra took part in online rehearsals and also held lectures by the conductor Jonathan Williams, on works they were planning to play in future. Orchestra chairman David Cooper says: “The pandemic not only stopped live rehearsals and concerts, but threatened to undermine the unity of all kinds of group activities across the globe. We worked hard throughout to keep the spirit on the NSO alive and it has paid off. “We have come back for this concert with a strong line-up of outstanding players excited to be performing once again in Newbury.” In keeping with its mission to promote young virtuoso soloists, the orchestra have invited Mathilde Milwidsky to play the Prokoviev Violin Concerto No 1 . Born in London in 1994, violinist Milwidsky has been praised by The Strad (2017) for her “perfect intonation and beautiful shaping and colouring, comprehensively nailing each new stylistic and emotional universe as she went”. She has performed as a soloist at the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall as well as across Europe. She has been broadcast on BBC radio . Mathilde’s studies began at the Royal College of Music Junior Department where she was a Tsukanov Scholar taught by Viktoria Grigoreva and David Takeno. She then studied at the Royal Academy of Music as a full scholarship student under György Pauk, graduating in July 2017 with first class honours and several awards. She is currently studying in Munich. The NSO will also play the Sibelius Symphony No 2 and Debussy’s Prélude à L’Après Midi D’Un Faun. The concert starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £12 (£2 for under 18s). Tickets are available from Hogan Music, Philip Brown Violins, and on the door or online at www. newburysymphonyorchestra.org

Ian Siegal at Arlington Arts last Wednesday, photographed by Brian Harrington Siegal’s Americana ‘easy’ Arlington Arts crowd loved this former art school drop-out’s style Ian Siegal at Arlington Arts, Snelsmore on Wednesday, November 10 album was recorded in California and is currently in the process of being mixed. Ian’s easy manner with the audience and endless witty banter provided both humour and insight into his songwriting process. Described as the “scariest” song he has ever heard, his version of Psycho , an Eddie Noack song, was brilliant, as indeed was his rendition

of Charlie Patton’s Pony Blues . KK’s Blues was a poignant tale of suicide, while Fishing Blues was a more uplifting tale about Ian’s favourite pastime. Preacher Blues , a Son House song, was an irreverent poke at religion and I loved Revelator, another comment on religion, and Onwards and Upwards , a song Ian wrote for the charity Help For Heroes, particularly apposite on the eve of Remembrance Day. The set ended with a stunning version of Honky Tonk Women as a tribute to the late Charlie Watts, before a two song encore of I’ll Fly Away and Take It To The Limit – Ian commenting that he is no Eagles fan, but loved the Etta James’ version. The small but enthusiastic audience loved it. Great stuff. rare treat of live Schubert. Flori Maunders’ adaption included some songs set for instruments only, allowing us to hear the delightful ensemble of violin, cello, clarinet, flute and piano. It was a real pleasure to hear live choral music once again. Sadly, Ed Lambert, the choir’s director of music for the last two decades, has decided that the Covid break gave him the opportunity to retire. Let us hope that a new conductor will be able to exploit the high musical standards that he has instilled in them during his tenure and which were on display on Saturday.

He opened with a great number from the new album with an opening line of “I’m gonna walk with my brother hand in hand” a track celebrating solidarity. He featured “a medley of my hit”, a song called I am the Train, taken from his 2012 album Candy Store Kid, alongside some great cover versions.

Review by BRIAN HARRINGTON

MAYBE it was because this was a Wednesday night, but it was such a shame this show was so sparsely attended. Ian Siegal hails from the Portsmouth area, dropped out of art college in the 1980s to go busking in Germany and he has since carved out a career for himself tirelessly touring his own brand of Americana, which blends strong blues and gospel influences with some very fine guitar work to create something unique. This solo acoustic tour is a prequel for his yet-to-be-released album which is due out next spring. The

...blends strong blues and gospel influences with some very fine guitar work to create something unique

Chamber choir romances change of style Under the baton of Florence Anna Maunders, Newbury Chamber Choir performed a version of Schubert’s versatility in adapting to a romantic secular piece from their more usual religious repertoire and gave us a

Newbury Chamber Choir, Schubert: The Miller’s Pretty Daughter on Saturday, November 6 at St John’s Church, Newbury

song cycle The Miller’s Pretty Daughter which Maunders had translated into English and arranged for choir and small orchestral ensemble. This translation, together with a programme that contained the full script, enabled us to follow the sad story of a young miller who, while wandering by a stream, finds the love of his life, only to be outdone in his advances to her by a hunter. Throughout the cycle, the brook plays a major role as the miller’s companion. The choir was, as ever, beautifully balanced and sensitive to the music. Although not yet back to full strength, they showed their

Review by RICHARD FOSTER

THE audience at St John’s Church saw and heard the

reappearance of one of Newbury’s fine amateur choirs for their first performance since the arrival of Covid.

Mathilde Milwidsky